Most fumed floors will go deep into the wood and retain the color after refinishing. Spot repair is typically more difficult because new finish that is applied may not look or adhere the same as the existing finish around it. The good news with prefinished floors is that if you damage a piece, it is fairly easy have a professional do a plank replacement to look brand new! To find out if the wood will retain the same color after refinishing, you can look at a side profile of the floors to see if the color is only on the surface or if it goes down deeper.

It's an engineered floor she's looking at. :)

Thanks so much Unique Floors! Hopefully the finish holds up and I wont have to do much if any touch ups for many, many years. I will be purchasing 8% extra so I should have plenty of extra planks for repairs.

I looked on the edge where the wood was cut and the colouring goes all the way through. :)

Fumed wood will generally get lighter with exposure. If it's truly fumed and the color goes through as you say, when it's refinished, it will go back to the original fumed color.

Thanks jfcwood and HandyMac. I'm delighted that the fumed wood will return to the original colour! It does look to be that same colour throughout the full 4.5mm so I'm hopeful it will still look great after a refinish.

It's disappointing that I won't be able to do spot repairs. Due to time constraints I have to go with a prefinished floor... so I hope it lasts a decade or more before requiring refinishing. Then when it does, I'll definitely get it done in Rubio Monocoat. Will the floor take RMC if it's had poly on it?

With proper care (regular cleaning/sand removal), protection (walk-off mats inside and outside of each entry) and periodic maintenance (professional recoating) you can likely get two to three times that out of the original finish. Once that's sanded off you could use an oil finish if desired.

Ms K, what is the name/manufacturer of your flooring?